NGPG Interventional Pain Management is dedicated to the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Our board certified pain management physicians provide high quality specialty care including image guided procedures for spine pain, nerve pain and musculoskeletal pain.
NGPG pain management doctors perform epidural steroid injections, which are injections that contain both a corticosteroid and an anesthetic numbing agent. Your doctor will inject the medication into the epidural space in the spine.
The goal of an epidural steroid injection is to reduce inflammation in the affected area. Relief from an epidural steroid injection can last from a few days to years.
Your NGPG pain management doctor will work in collaboration with your other specialists to develop a comprehensive treatment plan. An epidural steroid injection is often used in conjunction with physical therapy and other treatments.
People who have pain in their neck, arms, lower back, or legs may be candidates for an epidural steroid injection. Especially people with the following conditions:
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Herniated disc
- Degenerative disc
- Sciatica
Your NGPG pain management doctor will try to inject the steroid as close to the affected area as possible. In preparation for the procedure, you will receive local anesthesia to numb the area. Your doctor will have you lie on a table and will insert the needle into the epidural space between the bony vertebrae. Most patients feel pressure when the injection is going into the body.
Most patients are monitored for a short period after the procedure, but typically they can walk around and leave the clinic shortly after the procedure is finished.
You may have some soreness around the injection site, but you can generally return to your normal activities the day after the procedure.
If you only experience minor relief, your NGPG pain management doctor may perform more injections.
A facet injection, also known as a facet joint injection, is a nonsurgical therapy used at NGPG Pain Medicine to diagnose and treat facet joint pain. The facet joints are located on the spine and, when injured, can cause severe back pain.
When using a facet joint injection as a diagnostic tool, your pain management doctor is trying to determine if damage to the facet joint is causing your pain. If the injection relieves your pain, it will confirm that damage to your facet joints is to blame.
Facet joint injections are often used in conjunction with other therapies, such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication to provide optimal relief.
You may be a candidate for a facet joint injection if you have arthritic or thickened facet joints along with chronic back or neck pain.
You may also be a candidate for a facet joint injection if you have whiplash or other traumatic injuries to the neck or back.
Your NGPG pain management doctor will use numbing medicine around the injection site. You will lie on a table, and your doctor will slowly inject a mixture of anti-inflammatory medication and anesthetic directly into the facet joint.
A facet injection takes between 20 to 30 minutes for the injection and 45 minutes to recover before you can go home. Your back will likely be sore after the procedure for a few days. When possible, take time off from work or your normal activities during the healing period.
While a facet joint injection helps relieve pain, it is not a cure. Typically, patients need one to two injections every six months. Most patients experience a few months of pain relief after each injection.
Radiofrequency neurolysis, also known as radiofrequency neurotomy, is a minimally invasive pain management procedure used to provide long-term back and neck pain relief. Your NGPG pain management doctor may perform this therapy if your facet joints have been damaged from arthritis, injury, or other degenerative diseases.
Radiofrequency neurolysis treats pain by using heat to desensitize the nerves, which will interfere with their ability to transmit signals of pain. This therapy is used for long-term pain relief; therefore, it is used to extend the benefits of other pain management therapies such as facet joint injections.
You may be a candidate for radiofrequency neurolysis if you have chronic back, neck, hip, or knee pain that is not improving with other conservative treatments such as pain medications or physical therapy and when surgery is not an option.
Radiofrequency neurolysis may also be used as a treatment for whiplash.
Radiofrequency neurolysis is an outpatient procedure, so most patients go home after the procedure. Your NGPG pain management doctor will instruct you to lie down on a table, and you will be given IV sedation as well as numbing medication at the affected site.
Your doctor will precisely locate the affected area to ensure only targeted nerve tissue is treated with the radio waves.
After the procedure, you will be monitored until your care team has given you the clear to go home. You may experience soreness at the injection site, but this is temporary.
While radiofrequency neurolysis is not a permanent solution for back or neck pain, many patients have experienced significant relief for months at a time.